The holidays. Did you feel that? That was your body reacting to one of the most stressful phrases known to mankind. Just hearing it makes our pulses quicken, our palms sweaty, our minds race.

The holidays come with an extra dose of adult responsibility, be it from trying to find the perfect gift for your loved ones to doing your best to hit every single holiday party that you get invited to. For a time of the year that’s supposed to be about celebration and family and happiness, it sure does come with a lot of stress. Fear not, though, because after consulting with experts, the Green Guy has you covered for a stress-free holiday season this year.

Liz Burns (aka Coach Lizzie B) is a former Olympian and fitness coach who somehow combines remarkable sweetness of the non-caloric variety with extreme competence to get real results. When I asked her about eliminating stress over the holidays, she offered a two-pronged approach that–surprise!–focuses on health. On the eating front, Liz suggests that you fill up before a big party with healthy food when you know you’re going to gorge on sugary-salty-fatty goodness later. That way, you won’t be kicking yourself for eating the whole cheese log. “Before the party, grab a handful of nuts and a few bites of grass-fed beef jerky to take the edge off and avoid all those empty calories,” says Burns. “The key is having healthy snacks around so you don’t get stuck in ‘hangry’ mode!” Nobody likes being stuck in “hangry” mode—holidays or not.

She also recommends being flexible with your regular workout routine. Don’t have time to workout for an hour? Shorten it to 20 minutes. Don’t have time to workout at all? No problem. Skip it. As Burns says: “Maybe you skip a workout to spend extra time with family and friends. It’s going to be okay! Just get back in the gym the next day and don’t beat yourself up about it.” The secret is knowing that the stress is all in your own brain.

You are the one controlling how stressed you feel, which brings me to the next component of a stress-free holiday: Put your mind at ease.

It’s easier said than done, but if you can somehow find inner calm in the face of Black Friday, fruit cakes and unforgiving return policies, you’ll find that the holidays can be as stress-free as you want them to be. When you start to feel the symptoms of stress—your mind is hyperactive, time seems to be slipping away, you’re quick to anger and rage—just relax. That’s the advice of Dr. Elliott S. Dacher, M.D., author of Aware, Awake, Alive (Paragon House) and an expert on meditation practices.

“During challenging periods when there’s too much to do, consider taking short breaks,” says Dr. Dacher. “Stop and breathe slowly into the lower belly, imagining your energy moving from your head into your lower abdomen, ‘pulling’ your energy into your lower abdomen.” Just a simple break to step away from the craziness of trying to find the last Tickle Me Elmo may be enough to get you back to human form.

If I had to boil all of this de-stressing advice down to one word, it would be “breathe.” If you can be self-aware enough to take a deep breath every once in a while, you can escape the imaginary crush of too much to do in too little time. You’ll see and think more clearly, and you’ll be able to put that candy cane down in favor of a better choice (candy carrots, perhaps?).

]]>http://www.organicspamagazine.com/de-stressing-for-the-holidays/feed/0Heel Appealhttp://www.organicspamagazine.com/heel-appeal/
http://www.organicspamagazine.com/heel-appeal/#commentsMon, 13 Oct 2014 12:00:51 +0000http://www.organicspamagazine.com/?p=22972First steps on how not to take your feet for granted

Now that summer has drawn to a close, it’s finally time to put away the flip-flops—assuming you live in a climate that actually changes seasons. I’m in L.A., so it’s perma-summer around here most of the time, and that means my sandals stay on. It also means that my feet are exposed to the world on a regular basis, which has turned them into callused, dirty monster hooves.

Normally, I just accept that fact and move on, but as the Green Guy, it’s my duty to investigate how we “Men of the Filthy Feet” can take care of these essential body parts that so graciously take us from Point A to Point B.

The first step to proper foot care is to wash your feet. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? The truth is, it’s easy to overlook your feet while you shower because you’re, y’know, standing on them. I know my train of thought is always, “Well, they got wet and soap definitely had to pass over them to get to the drain, so they must be clean.” Nope. If the bottoms of your feet haven’t actually been exposed to soap, then it doesn’t count. Pick up your feet, take the two seconds to wash them, and you’re good to go, right? Not so fast, tiger. Good foot care is more than just a little wash-and-dry.

Clean feet are just the first step in establishing a solid foot care routine. Next, you need to scrub. If your feet are anything like mine, then you’ve got some calluses going on down there. A thorough scrubbing is the best way to eliminate them; and get rid of that hard, dead skin. I have two products that seem to do the trick. SpaRitual’s Sole Mate® Eco Foot File is a great tool for sanding down the heels with a double-sided “grit wand.” The disposable, abrasive corn-based pads are biodegradable and come in two levels of grit to accommodate different types of skin. Gilden Tree, a leader in natural and organic foot care, also makes a couple of scrubbing products. I loved its kiln-fired terra cotta Foot Scrubber, which is virtually indestructible compared to other pumice stones.

Once you’re all scrubbed down, it’s time to get some cream going. ShiKai’s Borage Therapy Foot Cream is a good option (available at Whole Foods Market), but my favorite was—once again—Gilden Tree with its unisex Kiran Forest-scented Nourishing Foot Cream. Not too greasy, not too scented, this cream moisturizes your feet using a certified organic aloe vera base and leaves hardly any residue. With aloe vera as the main ingredient, it actually works really well for sunburn relief, too.

Now that your feet are nice and moisturized, you need to add a protective layer of balm to prevent further drying and cracking. There are a lot of options on the market, but three really stand out to me. They all seem to work equally well, so it’s really a matter of fragrance and degree of ingredient sourcing that you care about. If you want fully certified USDA organic, go with Badger Foot Balm. It’s olive oil-based and scented with peppermint and tea tree oils. I’m definitely a fan. If you want something a little more tropical/citrusy, check out all-vegan hellomellow’s Hand and Foot Repair from its men’s fellow line, made from avocado-mango butter. Finally, we’re back to Gilden Tree (are you sensing a theme?) and its 95% Shea Butter Balm. This balm has only four ingredients: wild-crafted shea butter, beeswax, vitamin E and its cologne-esque Kiran Forest aroma. Any one of the three will do the trick, and these balms are all up to the task of preventing further damage to your feet.

It’s kind of amazing to see what a regular foot care regimen will do for your feet. Instead of the dark, callused skin I’ve been used to, now my feet are soft and healthy looking. It’s an important lesson: Don’t take your feet for granted, guys. They get you everywhere you need to go—flip-flop season or not.

While most people may think of reggae and rum when they imagine the Caribbean, one word that may not come to mind is chocolate. That’s changing, though, and a recent trip to St. Lucia during Chocolate Heritage Month showed me that St. Lucia is right on the cusp of being a major chocolate-producing island. Come with me on my chocolate-filled, perfect day in St. Lucia and get an insider’s look into the burgeoning chocolate scene on this tiny, friendly island.

Start your day at Jade Mountain, the only hotel (along with sister property Anse Chastanet) in St. Lucia that both grows their own cacao trees and transforms them into actual chocolate. The first thing you need to do after waking up is call your butler and order breakfast. A traditional St. Lucian breakfast of Johnny Cakes, local fish and cocoa tea will get your day started right. At Jade Mountain, the outside walls of the suites are non-existent and, with private infinity pools in almost every room, you can take a swim while looking out at the gorgeous Piton mountains. It’s a great way to work off those Johnny Cakes. How’s that for luxury?

After your breakfast, head over to Boucan by Hotel Chocolat for their tree-to-bar experience. Hotel Chocolat operates a full cacao farm on the island and, soon enough, they’ll be building a factory and making a high volume of chocolate bars right there on St. Lucia. For now, though, you have to settle for a really intensive overview of the entire cocoa-growing process, ending with the chance to make your very own chocolate bar from cocoa beans you grind yourself. You’ll never be able to eat that grocery store chocolate again…

Since you’ve already invested in making your own food, why not keep the ball rolling? Jenni Killam opened her “Spices Cooking Studio” in Gros Islet after traveling all over the world and taking cooking classes on her own. Now she’s teaching you how to “lime” and cook at the same time. In St. Lucia, lime is also used as a verb that loosely translates to “party,” and Killam’s cooking classes are filled with rum punch and good vibes. Make a traditional St. Lucian fish stew and cocoa tea flan in the beautiful, modern kitchen studio right underneath Killam’s own house, then enjoy the meal on the back patio overlooking the lush greenery of St. Lucia.

You’ve been working hard, so it’s time for a massage. At Sugar Beach (a Viceroy Resort), the Rainforest Spa looks like a thatched-hut village full of dark woods and cool breezes. While celebrities enjoy the brilliant white sand on the beach, sit back in your treatment room with their chocolate mint massage using all-natural chocolate mint oil from Caribbean Blue. You’ll walk out smelling like a Girl Scout Thin Mint, and that’s not a bad thing.

The St. Lucia chocolate journey continues at Fond Doux, a 250-year-old plantation in Soufrière that has been converted into a rustic, eco-friendly resort with private cottages and demonstrations of old-school cocoa processing where workers did the “cocoa dance” by coating cocoa beans in its natural liquid to start the fermentation process. Enjoy dinner at Jardin Cacao, the “cocoa garden” restaurant where local dishes like crab back and red snapper dot the menu. Listen to the live calypso/reggae band and lime the night away.

When you’re ready to head to bed, find your way back up to Jade Mountain. Some hotels leave chocolates on your pillow, but without those outside walls, you don’t want to let the birds steal your chipotle or chamomile-infused chocolate bars, so a full lineup of creative chocolates will be waiting safely for you in the fridge. Go to sleep with the sound of the ocean wafting through your mosquito net and wake up the next day ready for another chocolate-filled adventure.

]]>http://www.organicspamagazine.com/green-guys-perfect-day-st-lucia/feed/0Take It with a Grain of Salthttp://www.organicspamagazine.com/take-it-with-a-grain-of-salt/
http://www.organicspamagazine.com/take-it-with-a-grain-of-salt/#commentsSun, 29 Jun 2014 23:26:40 +0000http://www.organicspamagazine.com/?p=22052Local Hawaiian sea salt adds a savory tang to sweets, soothes sore muscles and is a favorite in spa treatments around the world

I can honestly say that before now, I have spent less than five minutes of my entire lifetime thinking about salt. That’s probably true for most of us. Salt is something that we all take for granted. It’s on our tabletops, in our cabinets and all over our food, and yet, it’s something that’s just… there. I mean, come on, it’s salt, right? What is there to even think about? After a trip down to Hawaii’s Kohala Coast, though, I found out that there’s a lot more to salt than just using it as seasoning for our French fries.

Centuries ago, salt was essential to life around the world. Without refrigeration, salt made it possible to preserve food through tough times. The early Hawaiians knew this all too well, which is why salt was equally as valuable as meat in their society. After all, what good is a massive hunt if all the meat spoils within a few days? So the Hawaiians harvested salt from the natural resource surrounding them: the ocean.

“My family would eat salt pork, salt beef, salt fish,” says “Aunty” Leina’ala Keakealani Lightner. “That was our main diet.” Aunty Lei, as she’s known, is a Cultural Specialist at the Ka‘upulehu Interpretive Center and took me down to the shores of Kalaemano, the area north of Kona where salt has traditionally been harvested. There, we saw man-made salt pans called poho pa‘akai (there are also natural salt basins called kaheka) that were basically flat volcanic rocks surrounded by a short wall of other rocks that held seawater before evaporating to leave salt behind. That salt made life possible for the Hawaiian people on this isolated chain of islands in the middle of the gigantic Pacific Ocean.

It wasn’t just used for food preservation, though. Throughout Hawaiian history, salt has also been used as medicine: for healing cuts and wounds, sore throats—you name it—and, according to Hawaiian culture, the magical combination of scalding hot water and Hawaiian sea salt can cure it. For active men, specifically, it’s hugely helpful in healing aching muscles by soaking in the salt.

Today, salt is still a major commodity in Hawaii. On the island of Kauai, enormous pans are set up to collect salt which is then mixed with volcanic red clay to form the Alaea sea salt used as an exfoliant in spa treatments around the world. At the Hualalai Spa on the Kohala Coast, they have an entire apothecary featuring ingredients from around Hawaii including a multitude of salts. One of those ingredients is a coffee-infused salt from the island of Molokai which forms the basis for their Coffee Mocha Scrub. Using the coffee salt, cacao nibs, cocoa butter and dried hibiscus flowers as a scrub, I was essentially turned into a human latté, and I loved every second of it.

Hawaiian chefs are incorporating local salt into their repertoires as well. Over at Hualalai Grille, Executive Sous Chef James Ebreo makes a rub for his steaks using local salt from the Kohala Coast. Hubert Des Marais, executive chef of The Fairmont Orchid, goes a step further and makes an exclusive chocolate Hawaiian salt blend using local cocao nibs (Hawaii is the only state in America that grows cacao) and dried chocolate oncidium orchids that works perfectly as a curing agent for meats, or as a topping for ice cream and other sweet treats that could use a salty contrast.

Don’t let that fool you into thinking the use of Hawaiian salt is limited to professional kitchens. In fact, it’s evolving with the rest of the food movement in America and now you can even find artisanal smoked Hawaiian sea salt thanks to Sam Wilburn of Hawaiian Volcano Sea Salt. The salt itself doesn’t come from the Mauna Kea Volcano that dominates the island, but it is smoked there using two local woods: guava and kiawe, a cousin of Texas mesquite. I met Wilburn at the Waimea Homestead Farmers Market and was shocked to find out that the salt harvested from the waters around the Big Island are much lower in sodium than regular table salt. It actually comes from 2,200 feet deep in the ocean, and the presence of all kinds of minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium makes it a much healthier product than plain old table salt.

When I got back home, I stared at the boring canister of salt I keep in my cabinet. How had I underestimated it this whole time? Sure, I would sprinkle a little on my vegetables before roasting and toss a dash into soup for seasoning, but I never even considered that it has uses beyond that. Now I know otherwise and I’m armed with some Hawaiian sea salt to prove it.

We’re in the thick of grilling season, and that salt has transformed my steak game. When I get a cut, I now soak my hand in a bowl of hot water and sea salt, and it heals so much faster than before. Give it a shot with your meat at home (or non-meat, if you are vegetarian), and I bet you’ll be just as convinced as I am. I may have overlooked it before, but mark my words: This is one Green Guy who will never take salt for granted again.

JASON KESSLER is a lifestyle writer/columnist for Bon Appetit, Food Republic and a slew of other publications. Follow him on Twitter @FlyDine.

Every Hawaiian island has its own specific vibe which makes it easy to pick the perfect place for you, as long as you know what you’re looking for. If you want laid-back, rustic charm, head to Molokai; luxury hotels with the hustle and bustle (and traffic) of a city? Go to Oahu. For calm relaxation in style, though, you want to be on The Big Island. More specifically, you want to be on the Kohala Coast, the northwestern part of the island just north of Kona. Here you’ll find seven different resorts, each as individual as the Hawaiian Islands themselves. I was just hosted on a trip down there, and now that I’m back with a perfect tan, I can share with you my Green Guy’s Perfect Day:

Wake up at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. It’s the oldest on the Kohala Coast at almost 50, but a room refresh a few years back means clean, modern design and the largest bathrooms I’ve ever seen. Just make sure you like the color orange because it’s everywhere at the Mauna Kea. While their breakfast buffet is quite nice, you’re better off heading out early to the (relatively) nearby Waikoloa Beach Marriott for their “Chef Shuttle” program where newly appointed Executive Chef Jayson Kanekoa gives you the lay of the land—quite literally—from the eyes of a local.

If you’re lucky, he’ll start the tour by taking you to Hawaiian Style Cafe where you can feast on massive plates of loco moco and pancakes the size of an entire island. On the Chef Shuttle, you’ll go to local farmers markets, farms and seafood shops to find the freshest ingredients on the island, and then take them back to the hotel where the chef gets to play a personal game of “Chopped” and turns those ingredients into a full meal. It’s designed to create dinner, but I opted for lunch instead.

If you’re like me, then you’ll want to use the afternoon to relax. Head back to the Mauna Kea and take advantage of their beautiful beach, or, even better, go to the Hualālai Spa for their coffee mocha scrub, in which salt from Molokai is infused with local coffee, cacao nibs, dried hibiscus flowers and cocoa butter to slough away old skin and leave you feeling completely refreshed. After the treatment, revel in the horizontal Vichy shower that rinses away the scrub while you lie down. Honestly, there’s very little that feels more luxurious to me than the feeling of warm jets splashing away the scrub while you lie back and enjoy.

If you can muster the energy to move after the treatment, drive to the gorgeous Fairmont Orchid just before sunset and get a table at Brown’s Beach House overlooking the ocean. You’ll listen to live Hawaiian music and watch the sun set right in front of you as you dig into really elegant island fare like a Kona coffee-braised short rib with shiitake mushrooms and edamame purée or, my favorite, the crab-crusted kampachi on top of a roasted corn mash with a sauce made from local poha berries.

The island winds down pretty early, so don’t expect to have many late-night options available, but that’s okay. Just head back to Mauna Kea and sit out on your private lanai (patio). Listening to the ocean roll in and out from the beach should be entertainment enough for anyone.

I’ve always been skeptical of the Do-It-Yourself movement. I know what I’m capable of (and not so capable of) and that means I leave most things to the professionals. Truth be told, I’m also incredibly lazy when I have the choice of buying something versus making it.

I do have a few friends who make their own household products, though, and they make it sound really, really easy—like, “pour this and that into here and you’re done.” So the DIY idea started to grow on me. But I had no clue about what kind of product I’d want to make myself. During a shower one day, it hit me: I should make shampoo.

I’ve been a Pantene user most of my life and never really stopped to read the ingredients. When I finally checked them out, I realized that shampoo is exactly what I should be making at home. For years, I’ve been coating my hair with stuff like ammonium xylenesulfonate and methylchloroisothiazolinone. I don’t know about you, but if I can’t pronounce it in three tries, I don’t want it near me. Instead, I started researching DIY shampoo recipes and finally found one that seemed incredibly easy, even for me.

The recipe calls for 1/3 cup of castile soap (like the ever-popular Dr. Bronners), 1/4 cup of coconut milk, around 20 drops of the essential oil of your choice, and some optional vitamin E oil, if that’s your thing. It’s not my thing, so I skipped the vitamin E oil. And since I chose the peppermint-hemp Dr. Bronners to use as a base, I didn’t really need any essential oil, either.

While some people may gravitate toward lavender-blueberry and rosemary-vanilla, I decided that plain peppermint was the best my hair could hope for. I also made the decision to swap coconut milk for pure coconut cream (available at Trader Joe’s and health stores) in order to get a slightly thicker consistency in my shampoo. That left me with just two ingredients, i.e. “pour this and this into here and you’re done.”

I was still skeptical that it would work, but after a few test-showers, I have to say that I’m a DIY shampoo convert. It was fantastic. The concoction lathered up like traditional shampoo, cleaned my hair nicely, and left a faint peppermint smell that made me feel like my hair had really nice breath all day. The one issue I found is that after rinsing the shampoo out of my hair, I was left with a bit of waxy residue. It goes away when you dry your hair, but it was definitely a little off-putting. Honestly, though, if a little waxiness is the biggest problem I have to deal with, that’s a small price to pay to say goodbye to methylchloroisothiazolinone forever.

Does this mean I’m going to make the move to DIY for all of my home products? Probably not. I mean, come on, I’m still pretty lazy. The shampoo is a nice start, though. By making it myself, I’m saving money, excising unnecessary chemicals from my life, and giving myself the greatest gift of all: that smug satisfaction that comes from using something you made with your own two hands.

Jason Kessler is a lifestyle writer/columnist for Bon Appetit, Food Republic and a slew of other publications. Follow him on Twitter @TheHungryClown.

Hong Kong is a city of towering skyscrapers with people everywhere you look. The boundaries of the territory extend to hundreds of islands, but seemingly each is overrun by a teeming population that bustles from morning until night. Finding some respite here is difficult, but not impossible, as I found in more than a week of exploring. From dim sum to local markets to a luxurious healthful lunch with an incredible view, my perfect day in Hong Kong mixes local favorites with the kind of high-end pampering you can only get from a five-star hotel.

Start your morning with a Tai Chi class on the outdoor pool terrace of the InterContinental Hong Kong. The hour-long class is free for guests and with the sun rising over Victoria Harbor, Tai Chi Master William Ng will get you centered and ready to begin your day. After class, stay on the pool terrace for a refreshing breakfast from the hotel’s ihealth menu, developed with nutritionists from local hospital Hong Kong Adventist to specifically address the prevention of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and the need for antioxidants. A full line of healthy smoothies are available, but my pick is the “health parfait”: thick, creamy Greek vanilla yogurt with pear compote and granola.

Since you’re already relaxed, schedule a treatment at the I-Spa just steps away from the pool. The private treatment rooms include your own personal sauna, steam showers and jacuzzis. I could have stayed in that jacuzzi all morning, but I’m glad I got out to experience the organic “scrub of the season” with brown sugar, jojoba, macadamia nut, sweet orange and lavender, followed by a truly incredible massage using Kerstin Florian’s Spa Body aromatherapy body oil made with juniper, rosemary, and organic sunflower oil. After two hours of spa time, my body felt refreshed and renewed. Time to take on the city!

Public transportation in Hong Kong is exceptionally easy with ample maps everywhere and signs in English. Hop on the MTR and use it as your (very public) chariot to explore the markets of Hong Kong. First, head out to Sham Shui Po and stop in for lunch at Tim Ho Wan, a dim sum legend and perhaps the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world. Their baked BBQ bun is known far and wide and you can’t help but feel like a local as Hong Kongers surround you with steaming baskets of dumplings and plates full of spring rolls.

Take some time to walk around the nearby electronics and clothing markets or get back on MTR and go to Mong Kok for fresh produce and street vendors of all types. Cross over the harbor into the aptly named Central on Hong Kong Island and explore the rapidly disappearing Graham Street Wet Market or walk down Des Voeux Street to see copious amounts of dried seafood and Chinese medicinal herbs and tonics.

All that walking will make you hungry, so have dinner at the excellent Lung King Heen inside the Four Seasons Hong Kong, which is the first Chinese restaurant in the world to earn three Michelin stars. Try elegant dishes like sautéed lobster in X.O. chili sauce and wok-fried Australian wagyu beef with morel mushrooms. Their elegant Cantonese food far surpasses anything you can find in the US.

Finally, cross back over to Kowloon and take a late night stroll on the Avenue of Stars (Hong Kong’s version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame) to enjoy the Symphony of Lights, a synchronized light and sound show featuring over forty brilliantly lit buildings on both sides of the harbor. If you’d prefer to escape the crowds, book one of the harbor view rooms at the InterContinental Hong Kong, which gives you the perfect view of the skyline on Hong Kong Island.

Let’s face it, if men were allowed to hibernate like bears in the winter, we would all do it. It’s certainly better than dealing with the harsh realities of the season, where your skin dries out and cracks like beef jerky. Once the snow melts and the grass starts to grow again, though, it’s time for a little spring cleaning. That applies both to clearing out the garage and taking care of your face—which brings us to the topic of exfoliation.

In all honesty, I’ve never really been into exfoliating. I have a beard, so half of my face is always covered and most of the other parts by default get exfoliated when I shave. Is that enough?

As it turns out, no. A regular exfoliation ritual can clear away dead skin cells, prevent ingrown hairs and keep your pores clean. “Men’s skin generally has larger pores and a lot more hair,” says Terese Linke, global education and spa training director for Amala skincare. “Hair traps oil, dirt, sweat and grime, which makes it even more important for men to exfoliate their skin.” See, ladies? Being a dude isn’t as easy as you think.

The biggest surprise to me with exfoliation is how easy it is to add it to your regular grooming routine. To get a firsthand glimpse of how it all works, I went to the Exhale Spa at the newly renovated Loews Hollywood Hotel where aesthetician Lanore Sutton gave me my first facial treatment. After more than an hour of rubbing, buffing and extracting, I had a new appreciation for the entire process. Sutton used Tata Harper’s Resurfacing Mask and gave me insight into why exfoliating is so important: “The purpose of exfoliation is to remind the cells that they need to shed every 26 days,” she told me. “It’s also going to help the skin remember to produce collagen, which is going to keep it nice and firm and taut.”

Since most of us can’t make it into spas all of the time, I asked Sutton for ways to exfoliate at home, and it’s really so simple. She recommends doing it once a week if you have normal skin, and a little more frequently if your skin is oily. Start by softly rinsing your face off with water, then rubbing in your exfoliant of choice—be it a mask, a peel or a scrub. The important part is to do it all gently and let the product do the work. If there are little granules involved, make sure they’re perfectly round so they don’t wind up scratching your face.

I’ve been test-driving products at home and found a few that I really like. In terms of scrubs, check out both from Bulldog skincare and Son for men, each are designed exclusively for men. They’re great for pre-shave exfoliation. Sibu also makes a good unisex scrub out of apricot and sea-buckthorn. If you’re not into feeling tiny beads all over your skin, Amala’s unisex detoxifying body cleanse made out of myrtle, almond and sea algae does the trick.

The bottom line is that it’s time for you to add exfoliation into your spring cleaning ritual. Heck, you’ll feel so good, you may even skip hibernation next year.

Jason Kessler is a lifestyle writer/columnist for Bon Appetit, Food Republic and a slew of other publications. Follow him on Twitter @TheHungryClown.

]]>http://www.organicspamagazine.com/spring-cleaning-why-every-guy-should-exfoliate/feed/0Back in the Fitness Saddlehttp://www.organicspamagazine.com/back-in-the-fitness-saddle/
http://www.organicspamagazine.com/back-in-the-fitness-saddle/#commentsWed, 15 Jan 2014 06:28:17 +0000http://www.organicspamagazine.com/?p=19923We all make workout resolutions this time of year, but here’s how to make them stick.

I feel like a failure. For months now–more like a year, actually–I’ve been lying to myself and saying I was going to go back to the gym. At one point, I went five days a week, an hour at a time. It felt great.

Then life took over. I made the unfortunate decision that I couldn’t afford that gym anymore, both in money and time. I vowed to join a new, cheaper gym and get back into the gym habit as soon as possible. That didn’t happen. Well, the joining happened (which means the paying happened), but the going? That never quite got off the ground. Now it’s a year out, and my pants barely fit. Yet I’m stuck in a holding pattern where getting back into a fitness regimen seems like the hardest thing in the world.

How can I break out of this rut?

Clearly, I need professional help and when it comes to fitness that comes in the form of trainers. The first guy I went to is Josh Fingerhut, a beefy dude who used to be my personal trainer back when I could afford that kind of thing. As it turns out, he’s been in the same boat when it comes to falling off the fitness wagon. His advice was simple: “Have a plan. Stick to it. Even if you don’t finish the whole workout, you were there, you burned some calories, you broke down some muscle fibers to only make them stronger.” It sounds so easy, doesn’t it? Have a plan and stick to it. Yes. I need to do that.

Next up was Joel Harper, celebrity trainer who works with Dr. Oz. He took the “Have a plan” idea and made it a little more real. “My tip for getting back into exercising is to focus on what you want–be it a 32-inch waist, losing 15 pounds, or doing 100 pushups,” he says. “Be very clear and write it on a Post-It note and put it on your bathroom mirror so you see it every day.” Ah, the classic “Post-It on the mirror” trick. Very useful. That’s why I now have a Post-It that says, “Set a Fitness Goal.” Hey! It’s a start.

I knew I needed something concrete, and I knew I would need to stick to it, but Harper provided more insight about what that should be. “I am all about short workouts that get you results. The key is using your time efficiently and effectively.” With that, I decided to find a workout routine that was fast and efficient. Luckily, I found one rather quickly.

Back in May, the New York Times Magazine published a story called “The Scientific 7-Minute Workout” that detailed the work of Chris Jordan, director of exercise physiology at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, FL. It gives you a series of 12 different exercises to be done for 30 seconds each, working all major areas of the body with nothing more than a chair, a wall, and your own body weight. It’s brilliant. You can’t complain that it’s complicated, because it’s not. You can’t complain that it’s expensive, because it’s not. You can’t complain about anything, really. You just have to commit to it.

So here I am, about to embark on a new exercise journey with an incredibly simple workout program that eliminates pretty much all of my regular excuses. I’ve got a new Post-It that says “7-Minute Workout” and a personal vow to stop hating my pants. And you know what the best part is? I don’t feel like such a failure anymore.

Jason Kessler is a lifestyle writer/columnist for Bon Appetit, Food Republic and a slew of other publications. Follow him on Twitter @TheHungryClown.

I have a confession. Until I went to Thailand in September, I had never received a Thai massage. This decision was mostly rooted in self-defense. I had heard that you walk away from a Thai massage feeling more beaten up than when you arrived, so when given a choice, I always opted for Swedish. After 10 days of traveling all over Thailand, I realized I was right about the pain—but then I learned to love it.

Before my trip, I was vaguely familiar with the concepts of Thai massage: You’re stretched and pulled and walked on until, somehow, all of your muscles relent and you feel amazing. The first stop of my Thai Massage Tour was in Bangkok. Instead of jumping right into the ultra- luxe Four Seasons spa experience that I would be enjoying for the rest of my trip, I asked around and got a recommendation for a local place that I could use as a baseline. Upon entering Nillada, I felt a little daunted. It was essentially a multi-story house converted into a massage emporium. The ground floor was completely silent as a long row of people received foot massages. I pointed to the sign that said “1 Hour Thai Massage” and was led upstairs to the massage rooms.

This is where I should pause and say that “massage room” is being very generous. I had an elevated mattress on a wooden platform sur- rounded by sheets. Not exactly the most upscale affair, but for the equiv- alent of $7, who was I to complain? After an hour of being worked like a rag doll, I started to get in the spirit of Thai massage. Was it odd to have an aging Thai woman climb on top of me? Sure. Did I leave completely relaxed? You bet I did. My Thai Massage Tour was off to a great start.

The next stop was the Four Seasons Tented Camp in the northern-most Golden Triangle re- gion of Thailand. Magical doesn’t even begin to describe it. The entire place is an all- inclusive tent camp (with the most wonderful tents you’ve ever seen) and the spa is more like a cottage in the forest. I half-expected Thai elves to welcome me into their home. Instead, I got a “Ruak Ritual,” which mixes Thai massage with heated ruak (aka bamboo) used like human rolling pins. Just as the massage was about to begin, rain started to fall and since there aren’t any walls in the open-air treatment room, I got to listen to the sound of the rain as my therapist kneaded me like sourdough.

While “massage in the middle of a Thai rainforest” may be on some people’s bucket lists, it was actually the next treatment that made me a true believer in Thai massage. Down at the Four Seasons Chiang Mai, in a spa inspired by the Lanna Kingdom that used to rule the area, I got one of the best massages of my life. It was Thai, but a different kind of Thai: They call it Ytsara Samunprai, and it remains unchanged since the 18th century. Using poultices made from lemongrass, kaffir lime, camphor, ginger and banana leaf, my pores were opened, my muscles soothed, and my mind reset. I was in such a state of bliss that I felt like I was having a lucid dream. Now that’s a powerful massage.

I didn’t think anything could top it, but after journeying to the Four Seasons on the island of Koh Samui, I found a master of Thai massage. Jimmy came highly recommended and while I normally eschew male therapists, I was promised that I wouldn’t regret my choice. I’m happy to report that I don’t. As I looked over the cerulean waters of the Gulf of Thailand, Jimmy gave a master class in Thai massage. The goal seemed to be to crack every joint on my body, and he succeeded. I felt like a mari- onette being controlled by a puppet-master with almost no free will of my own. It felt incredible.

And just like that my tour came to an end. I started off a Thai massage neophyte, but now I feel like an expert. Go ahead, therapists of the world, crunch me, pull me, poke me, and prod me—I can take it. As it turns out, I have a new confession: I love Thai massage.

JASON KESSLER is a lifestyle writer/columnist for Bon Appetit, Food Republic and a slew of other publications. Follow him on Twitter @TheHungryClown.